U3AC Photography Forum 2018-19 8. Portraits and Groups

Nick Kerry used artists as diverse as Leonardo de Vinci, Rembrandt, John Swannell and Cecil Beaton to illuminate his session on Friday. The aim of the portrait, he said, is to capture the personality; pictures may be formal or informal, static or dynamic. Concentrating mainly on formal portraiture he looked at the practicalities of pose, clothing, lighting, and background (and related depth of field). These, and possibly the inclusion of props, can be used to introduce symbolism into the portrait. The question of whether casual snaps can be considered as portraits was left hanging. See Nick’s presentation at www.zimbushboy.org/photo-forum-2018-19